Criminal Minds uncorks one of its biggest episodes this Wednesday at 9/8c, when the private, deadly drama that Prentiss labored to keep to herself draws in the entire BAU team. Directed by Matthew Gray Gubler, the hour represents Paget Brewster‘s final appearance as a series regular, as well as brings A.J. Cook back into the fold as the previously departed JJ Jareau.

No stranger to directing, Gubler shared with TVLine how he approached the intense assignment – grenades and all.

TVLINE | Not to intimidate you after the fact, but Criminal Minds gave you one big-ass episode to direct.
I know! Actually I sort of requested it, and [Paget] sort of demanded that I direct it, too. I was very much looking forward to the challenge.

TVLINE | You had to orchestrate a return, a major exit, showdowns….
Yeah, and the return was sort of a surprise, too, a last-minute wild card that got thrown in there.

TVLINE | Which of your previous directing gigs best prepared you for this?None of them, that’s what’s funny. The nature of the episode is this action world that isn’t necessarily what I gravitate towards. I prefer the creepy, scary, bizarre and surreal, and this was so rooted in gunplay and grenades, things I’ve only thought about when I was, like, 8 years old and playing in the park. I tried to watch a lot of action movies to prepare for it.

TVLINE | Obviously the big hook is that Prentiss has sneaked off to do her own thing, with regards to Ian Doyle. What’s harder for the team, catching up to her or helping her once they do?
We have Garcia, so we can catch up to anybody. Saving them, though, sometimes is the thing in question.

TVLINE | How was it having A.J. Cook back on the set?
She’d only been gone for about 10 episodes, but the minute she came back everybody was rejoicing. We work with a bunch of cool guys on the crew, and they were very excited to have a very beautiful member of the team back. They get sick of looking at me, Thomas [Gibson] and Joe [Mantegna] all the time.

TVLINE | And how do the characters welcome back JJ?
It felt great to have our girl back. The intention for this episode, as the writers pitched it to me, was, “This one is absolutely for the fans.” They weren’t concerned about whether it’s going to track well with this or that demo; all we cared about was giving one character an exceptional send-off, and to help do that we brought back JJ.

TVLINE | That was my next question: Does Paget get as fulfilling a send-off as a longtime cast member could hope for?Obviously I’m biased [Laughs], but I think it’s the best thing we could have done for Prentiss. I’m happy I got to direct it.

TVLINE | Looking ahead, who do you think will be hit hardest by Prentiss’ absence?As director, I wanted each of the BAU members to exhibit a different form of loss, and Reid to me was the little brother losing his sister. If you ask any actor, they’d say [their character was] hit hardest. As the director, I’m not sure. Probably Garcia.

TVLINE | Prentiss is the only one Reid confided in about his headaches. What’s going on with that mystery ailment anyway?That’s a good question. The episode after this deals with it a bit, but I kind of leave it all to the writers in that regard. I like knowing a little bit less.

TVLINE | But when you see that first script with the headaches…. You know what they say about “bringing out a gun in the first act”….Yeah, exactly. Again, maybe in a bad way I’m too laissez faire in that regard. I also know about Hollywood that if I were dying, nobody would tell me. [Laughs] It’s all a lot of smiles and then all of a sudden you’re checking out new job options.

TVLINE | Before we go, what can you tell me about this next project of yours, Magic Valley?I’m in that great period of life where everybody that I went to film school with is now making their first film, so I’m going to be in, like, 5,000 independent films in the next couple years. But this one is going to the Tribeca Film Festival in April, and it’s a really super-unique, strange and intriguing movie. It’s a day in the life of six or seven people in Idaho, and I play a heavy metal musician/fish farmer.

TVLINE |Really? Another heavy metal musician/fish farmer movie?
I know, just when you thought you had seen the last one.

I was soooo disappointed that Emily is gone, she was a big part of Criminal Minds.. Reid is another one of my favourite character, I hope CBS is not stupid enough to let him go… I will never watch the show again.. I had truly loved it…

yup. and last season, mosley lane was the best episode. gubler should direct more often. he has the chops for it. also, it was the very episode of cm i watched and i had to watch four and a half seasons worth so i could catch up. bye prentiss – you have always been lovely in this show. :D

I read that Prentiss and JJ leaving was because of contract disputes. I do not believe this show does not make enough money to cover their demands. TV writers, producers, etc. always ruin a good show when it is doing great. Then, the show is canceled. Reid is a great actor and hopefully the producers won’t do something as stupid as firing him.

I agree with Eve! Why drop JJ to add the new female character who doesn’t have 1/10 of JJ’s personality and presence! She adds nothing to the cast and now without Prentiss, it’s turning into an old boy’s club… (If the show and the characters work, why mess with it???)
I’ll see how things start next season and decide then if I’ll continue to watch the show…

The reason is probably economic. CM has been on a long time (for a series). As time(and tenure)go on salaries go up. The Seaver character is new so she will make considerably less then AJ Cook. This type of action annoys us fans but makes the bean counters happy. In the end it’s always the bottom line, not the quality of the product. American business 101. My other guess is they’re going to slowly wind down CM and repalce it with CM Suspect Behavior. Don’t know though. It’s all my opinion.

I thought J J was the middle person to everyone. the character she played was totally different than anyone else. As a matter of fact each and every person play a different person. Its amazing that the writers of this show make everyone interesting. I watch a lot of show similar to this one and I think criminal minds tops all of them.

I was very disappointed that Aj’s appearance was so minimal. I did get excited when Ian talked about taking about Seaver, then Rossi before shooting his real target – the informer. I thought, well, I’ll miss Joe Mangenella but it’s worth it to get rid of that odious girl. I loved the fact that Criminal MInds had such strong female characters that were an integral part of the action – at least I thought they were integral. I’d rather have just Garcia now, unless/until they can write in a good complex character, and cast it well. I’ve pretty much reconciled myself to the fact that Paget will probably not come back (however well her show does) and AJ would probably refuse to as well if the producers changed their minds.
I did think it was funny that Matthew said the crew was excited to see a beautiful woman on set, that they were sick of looking at him and Joe and Thomas. Obviously they’re not sick of looking at Shemar!
Matthew did a very good job of directing, but I didn’t think this storyline was very well written. Also thought Paget looked like she was going through the motions, especially when they showed her in the flashbacks. Unless his direction was to play it stiff and emotionless – very different from the energy and passion we normally see in Prentiss.
It will definitely be a different show now. More like ‘young impressionable girl is schooled by strong, capable men on how to be a member of the BAU. I miss JJ and Prentiss so much. :(

She’s my favorite character and this will be hard, but at least she isn’t dying. Sounds like it’s going to be one amazing final episode. Not to disregard her future endeavors, but I hope Paget can return to the show, and I’ll be ready to resume watching if/when she does.

I know that I certainly don’t think they’re helping the show, getting rid of two such exceptional actresses~~or did the actresses want out? Either way, I really miss JJ, and think she was an integregal part of the show, and I will miss Prentiss just as much. Is this going to end up being a boys and Garcia hit? I think the team was better with all of them in it.

I absolutely agree – why would they add a new blond jst cause the wrote off the old one – and so far she isn’t a very interesting character – Emily was interesting from the beginning – even if she was a replacement for the other brunette – I think she was better than Elle – not the case with the new blond. I don’t mind if it’s just the boys and Garcia – but couldn’t Ian’s guy have missed and got her too.

Ha! That’s just what I wrote. It would be difficult to replace Paget and AJ with anybody, but to write in this pale,washed-out character that realistically, would have been sent back to the school (or tossed out, because she failed so badly), adds insult to injury. CBS must not think very much of women if they believe anyone half-way good-looking must be a suitable replacement. Oh wait, this is the network that airs 21/2 Men, obviously women are only jokes & T&A to them. Their management team must be almost entirely full of men.

I have been watching Criminal Minds forever and it is one of the best crime shows on tv but now that two more awesome actors left the show i’m not sure i will watch anymore. Soon there will not be anymore original actors left on the show. The girl they got to take over AJ Cook’s place doesn’t even have half the personality that AJ has. Bring back Paget and AJ and i will continue to watch forever.

Thanks for the article Matt! Ahw this is gonna be such an emotional episode. I can’t believe that after JJ, we’ll be saying goodbye to Prentis as well. I swear, sometimes it’s like whoever’s in charge at CBS has a giant brainfart and makes all these horrible mistakes.

But is CBS really dumb? After all the didn’t kill Prentis or JJ. They left that open so that the show can go either direction, with or without Prentis and JJ in the future. Other shows kill off the people leaving the show. So they are gone for good, no chance of them coming back. But this way, just as we see tonight, it’s always possible to bring someone back.
Thanks for the article Matt.

It sucks to see my sec. favorite character go. Prentiss&Reid were the best part of the show IMHO…. If they later in the show by any chance kill off Reid as well, I’ll be devastated…
Oh and, being a fan of this show, it’s really sad to watch it go down in flames.

Thank you so much for the interview with Matthew! I really enjoyed reading it. I plan to watch every episode this season, and hopefully, well beyond as long as Reid is still there!

I’m excited about tonight’s episode because MGG is directing it. He did a great job with Mosley Lane. I know this one will be good!

Thank you, also, for getting MGG to let us in a bit about the next episode addressing Reid’s condition again. I’m 100% invested in that storyline and hope Reid is part of the season finale cliffhanger as well! Hopefully, there will be more Reid/Morgan bonding as brothers, too. As for the brother/sister relationship with Prentiss, that is an interesting take on things. I plan to watch closely tonight to see how that translates onscreen with Prentiss leaving and all.

I’m really gutted about Emily leaving. I really hope Paget comes back next year, AJ too.
I hated that JJ left and although I am so excited to see JJ back it’s all overshadowed by the knowledge that she’ll be gone again at the end of the episode and so, this time, will Emily. Having said that I am looking forward to seeing how Prentiss’s departure affects Reid, I love their little brother-big sister relationship. And I am very much looking forward to seeing where they are going with Reid’s headaches storyline. Reid’s my favourite and this storyline has me intrigued.
Also, I love that MGG is directing Paget’s last episode. That’s just exactly as it should be.

I agree with you Joan! I like a lot of CBS shows. In fact I watch more on CBS than NBC now. While I like CSI and NCIS and a few others, I LOVE Criminal Minds! I will miss Emily but I will not stop watching. And I can’t wait to see what MGG does with this episode. Mosley Lane is one of my favorites!

Thanks for directing this one Matthew. I really agree with you that Prentiss and Reid’s relationship is one of a brother and sister. This is going to be a bitter sweet episode for me to watch because I’m sad to see Pget/Prentiss leaving yet I’m excited to see AJ/JJ come back. I also think that Garcia would take anyone leaving hard, that is just her character and how she rolls.
I love all of you guys, thanks for putting together a great TV series and I hope that it continues to run for a few more seasons. I would hate to see this end.

First I heard of that reason – “refresh the show”. Only one reason going around since June 15 when CBS announced AJ Cook was let go and Paget Brewster would be cut 50% this year and then let go too – MONEY.

CBS had to pay Charlie Sheen his $1.8 million PER EPISODE AND Ed Bernero wanted to be an ex-cop / movie mogul by getting his stupid spin-off which costs beaucoup bucks. Think Academy Award winner, Forest Whitaker came cheap? = why the rest of the cast of CM:SB is so bad / light weights with no chemistry whatsoever.

There are many intellectual discussions to mention here, but instead I want to say, I love the show; the cast is fabulous; and that Matthew is so very HOT! So sexy in looks, talent (acting and directing) and in the character he portrays here..

Criminal Minds has a strong, independent female role invested in Prentiss and an actor equal to that role in Page Brewster! It is a mistake to mess with the chemistry in the superb cast. If CBS can do anything to keep her, I hope they do. I’m so disappointed in hearing she’s leaving.

Once again the execs at CBS do not have a clue about their programs or their audiences. Lets try to tell them once again. The cast dynamics are essential. We watch because we get involved with them as people and their synergy together. Why Why why would you change that? JJ needed to stay. the New partime whatever character that replaced her is impotent and unnecessary. Paget Brewster is a quality actor and brought so much depth to the part and the production. What is exactly wrong with all of you? Are you the same group that took Numbers off the air? The only other program with any scrips with some intellectual depth and wonderful characters? I would love for someone to explain how you all keep your highly paid jobs when you are obviously tunnel visioned and just plain wrong so often.

You need to bring one or both of them back. I get it you have a new criminal minds but the original is the one our college watches on a regular basis. Charlie 2 million an episode is gone spend some money and fix this or you will end up loosing a great show. Love Forest on new show but think about it janeen vs either of the other two. Who’ doing the casting?

Criminal Minds did an exceptional job of sending Prentiss off. It really is reminds me off the terrorist episode in which Hotch got caught up in the car explosion. It will be really interesting to see if Paget Brewster picks up her series regular option for next season. Her pilot has yet to be picked up, but this new twist to her character could really solidify her character. This is really one of only two Prentiss-centric episodes since she joined the show five years ago. Gubler also did an awesome job with the episode….I was enthralled to the very end!

I LOVE Criminal Minds…Its so full of action & mystery…Sure was great seeing JJ back on tonight and I sure am going to miss Emily…I loved their charcters alot…They made the show strong just like a family…GREAT job directing Matthew.

The episode was fine but tried to do too much in a one episode. Just really stinks because without Prentiss and JJ, its starting to feel very predictable and like any other male dominated crime/police drama. Another one bites the dust, guess I’m in search of a new weekly show!

My favourite day of the week Criminal Mind “wednesdays”….love the show, love the entire cast, sad to see anyone go ( i really cried) but she will be a character that will be missed and remembered (in the show). Looking forward to more exciting episodes…..PS Outstanding work as your character Dr. Reid and as a Director…your’re all at the top of my list, so i don’t know who is at the top…great series..thank you from Ottawa, Canada

I’ve been a fan of the show from day 1 but I can honestly say that since JJ has left, I’ve found the episodes to be flat. The characters don’t look or feel comfortable taking on the duties that JJ used to assume. The writing has faltered as well. It seems like the execs misjudged how vital JJ was in that role because now the episodes feel fractured and less cohesive.
I hope the execs regroup and fix the mistake they made by letting JJ go. Losing Prentiss will have be a huge loss too! I think a great way to save face is to make some shows showing Prentiss hunting Doyle while the team does so too (including JJ). Lots of action, intrigue ensues and of course a happy ending with the gang all reunited!
Either that or another Bobby Ewing Dream Episode…

What a grreat job directing and what an impossible situation for the character of Spencer. First his mother suffers from a mental illness, his mentor leaves him early in their relationship (the show), then JJ for another job and now Emily (a big sister figure). Something has got to happen to Spencer to show how all the losses will impact him.

I know this will sound crazy, but I got called away from the TV right near the end of tonight’s episode and never saw whether or not Ian Doyle got killed! Can anyone help me out here? Loved what I did get to see! So sorry that Prentiss is leaving!

I watched the show all the way to the end. I also don’t know if Ian got killed. I want to say no he didn’t and got away as I didn’t see him there when Morgan found Prentiss. Why would the writers disguise her and not show her at the end. I think she will be back in some episodes. Loved seeing JJ, hope she comes. back.

I just love your show and thinkyou are the coolest guy. Wish I knew syou in person I think we might get alomg great. I’m not a wacko just a big fan. Me and my kids watch every week. would love to meet you sometime.,

I just finished watching the episode to night and I must say good job Matthew!!! I could so see you emotion in the hospital scene. A couple things that are going to bug me forever until I figure it out: is JJ back for good or does she leave again? Another thing is Prentiss still alive and just gone into hiding?
Either way excellant show, this must have been a hard one for you to direct Matthew. Thank you Matthew Gray Gubler, Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Kristen Vangsness, Joe Mantegna, AJ Cook, Paget Brewster and all the rest that have made Criminal Minds a big hit and a much loved TV series.

Loved Criminal Minds since it first hit TV. The characters are right on.I enjoy the family-like relationship between certain characters, altho’ I miss the brotherly-like bonding between Reid and Morgan.This g-ma is tired of the powers that be getting rid of great cast members. The show isn’t broken…

Loved Criminal Minds since it first hit TV. The characters are right on.I enjoy the family-like relationship between certain characters, altho’ I miss the brotherly-like bonding between Reid and Morgan.This g-ma is tired of the powers that be, getting rid of great cast members. The show isn’t broken…leave it alone.

I think Prentiss will be sadly missed. She is an awesome character…and Paget portrays here wonderfully. It is good to know that JJ will be back. I understand that shows sometimes need to shake things up to make it interesting, however, The cast that included Prentiss and JJ was the best ever. Criminal Minds is my all time favorite show. I will say that if they decide to eliminate Dr. Reid…that is it for me. I love his character…he is just so intelligent yet lovable. His character is refreshing…and I think Matthew Gray Gubler is an extremely talented young man. Criminal Minds has an exceptional cast…please…no more changes…let us fans enjoy the show without all the useless cast eliminations. I hope it has an awesome next season! Kudos Mr. Gubler on great directing!

Paget is such a great actress. I just love watching her. So sad to see her leave, because Prentiss is one of my favorite characters on Criminal Minds. On the onther hand Paget is so good at comedy, that I can’t wait to see her do more comedy. Maybe she could get a guest role on Glee and play a relative of Rachel?
Criminal Minds has been one of my favorite shows, but the bad writing in season six has made it painfull to watch. I just have enough of to much focus on the UnSUbs, to much Morgan, to much Hotch in the back ground, giving up the family relationship bewteen the team members, focusing on the violence not the mind, not enough profiling. Right now I don’t know if I will continue to watch, if it’s only the boys, Garcia and the kid.

Terrific show! We will miss Emily Prentis – she’s a really great character and an exciting actor to watch. By the way, we hate the Criminal Minds Suspect Behavior spin off. What’s off is the drama-prone actors in Suspect Behavior. Compared to Hodges’ team that’s focused and intent. Suspect Behavior story lines are great and captivating, but the characters are so emotional it makes the show like any other police show that shallow and drama. They actors look scattered from start to finish. Not confident like the original criminal minds.

I agree with Callisandra – too much Morgan – he is my least favorite characater on the show, but it could be more the storylines. I enjoyed the first season best. When giddion left I thought I’d never watch the show again, but I have been I love the show. However, the new gal needs to go her character is not needed and is very boring to watch.

Oh, I love you Matthew Gubler! Please, marry me.
I was sad because Prentiss is leaving Criminal Minds. She was so great and funny. I love her, I mean, I love everybody from BAU but her…Oh man. But I hope, one day, she comeback for Criminal Minds.

I LOVE Matthew Gray Gubler!!!<3 Marry me?!?!?!
if he ever left the show i would quit in like one second! i cried my eyes out during this episode. I'm just confused if it was the season finale of something??? If it is I will probably die haha :)
I NEED PRENTISS TO COME BACK THOUGH! I loved her!

I totally agree. There are way too many men on the show; what a sexist bunch of producers!! I stop watching the show; what a bore with all these lame guys around and the real interesting, intelligent female characters cut out! Shame on these guys!!